The present invention relates to information recording technique for recording information on a plurality of sorts of recording media and more particular, to an information recording technique which can perform record interrupting or resuming operation suitable depending on the type of the recording medium when information is recorded on the recording medium.
In an information recording apparatus for recording information on a rewritable recording medium such as a CD-RW (rewrite), DVD-RAM (random access memory) or DVD-RW; there is a problem that, due to vibration/shock, dust on a recording medium, a defect on the recording medium, electric noise or abnormality such as abnormal control, recording information cannot normally reach the recording medium from an optical recording head and thus cannot be normally recorded on the recording medium with a result of a recording error. In order to solve the problem, a so-called retry operation that an unrecordable location is scanned once again for recording operation has conventionally been carried out. JP-A-6-44627 discloses a technique wherein, when a vibration sensor for previously detecting vibration detects vibration during recording operation, the recording is interrupted and at the time of resuming the recording operation, information is again recorded from the head of a record unit.
Meanwhile, among recording media, there is an information recording apparatus for recording information on a unrewritable recording medium such as a DVD-R (recordable) or a CD-R. In the conventional information recording apparatus, however, the record start position is fixed to the start point of a basic record unit such as a sector or block prescribed by the recording medium Standard, so that, when recording operation is stopped by buffer under-run, the recording is stopped at the end point of the basic record unit and, as soon as the recording becomes possible, the recording is assumed from the start point of the basic record unit where the recording was stopped. When an abnormality has to stop the recording operation at halfway of the basic record unit, however, it is impossible to perform its re-recording operation by retry operation as in the rewritable recording medium, and such an operation as to discard the recording medium in use and exchange it with a new recording medium must be carried out. Also disclosed in JP-A-2001-176211 is a technique in an information recording apparatus for recording information on an unrewritable recording medium, wherein, when recording operation is stopped and then assumed thereafter, the information can be seamlessly continuously recorded directly after the record stop position. In these years, there is suggested such a technique that an identical information recording apparatus can record information in various types of recording media. This is developed from users' needs who want, for example, to use a rewritable recording medium for a fine file or a file which requires rewriting operation many times, and to use an unrewritable recording medium for a file of information which requires no rewriting operation and is used only for data backup. However, the re-recording conditions are not changed differently for the rewritable recording media and the unrewritable recording media, the apparatus perform retry operation for the rewritable recording medium and the unrewritable recording medium must be exchanged a new one as in the prior art. In addition, such an information recording apparatus cannot take a precaution measure to previously prevent a recording error caused by an abnormality.